Fighting the Dragon

Long time ago the people of Krakow, Poland had to confront a dragon that was disturbing them. Today, we are faced with different kind of Dragons, in our work, community, family and friendship circles, sometimes we live with them and sometimes we fight them. When it becomes difficult for us to servive with them, we use every method and ways of getting them our of our lives, so that we may be productive again and enjoy life.

Marek, who sits at the help desk at Novotel City West hotel, says that Krakow is a small city. It’s not.

Long ago in Poland’s early history, On the River Vistula, there was a small settlement of wooden huts inhabited by peaceful people who farmed the land and plied their trades. Near this village was Wawel Hill. In the side of Wawel Hill was a deep cave. The entrance was overgrown with tall, grass, bushes, and weeds. No man had ever ventured inside that cave, and some said that a fearsome dragon lived within it. The young people of the village didn’t believe in the dragon. The old people of the village said that they had heard their fathers tell of a dragon who slept in the cave, and no man must dare waken it, or there would be dire consequences for them all.

Some of the youths decided to explore the cave and put an end to such foolish talk. They thought that they knew better and dragons were just old stories from the past. A group of these young people took some torches and went to the cave. They slowly entered the cave until they came to a dark mass of scales blocking their way and the sound of heavy breathing. The boys ran as the dragon awakened and roared. Fire came from it’s mouth warming the boys heels and backs. When they were far enough away, they looked back and saw the dragon at the entrance of the cave, very angry being awakened from it’s sleep.

From that day on, the people knew no peace. Every day the dragon appeared and carried off a sheep or preferably young virgins. The populace made many attempts to kill the dragon but nothing succeeded and many of those that attempted were killed. The hero in this part of the story differs. In the village lived a wise man, or a shoemaker or a shoe makers apprentice named Krakus or Krac. He got some sheep and mixed a thick, yellow paste from sulfur. Krakus smeared it all over the animals. Then led them to a place where the dragon would see them.

The dragon came out as expected, saw the sheep, roared, rushed down the hill and devoured the sheep. The dragon had a terrible fire within him, and a terrible thirst. It rushed to the River Vistula and started drinking. It drank and drank and could not stop. The dragon began to swell, but still it drank more and more. It went on drinking till suddenly there was a great explosion, and the dragon burst. There was great rejoicing by the people. Krakus, was made ruler of the village, and they built a stronghold on Wawel Hill.

The country prospered under the rule of Krakus and a city grew up around the hill which was called Krakow, in honour of Krakus. When Krakus died, the people gave him a magnificent burial, and erected a mound over his tomb which can be seen to this day. The people brought earth with their own hands to the mound, and it has endured through all the centuries as a memorial to the person that killed the dragon of Krakow. Today Aleksander Kuczek welcomes us to his city of Krakow and from what we can see the people of Krakow did a good job rebuilding their city. We are here to “Fight the Dragon” in a smart way.

The Joomla community is meeting here in Krakow for the JandBeyond conference for three days of fun, learning and networking. We are here to be inspired by the story of the people in Krakow, they are very friendly and welcoming. Their contribution to the Joomla community has been felt all over the world. I have no doubt in my heart that we will break the head wind, and make the community better for the future.

Joomla has come a long way, we have now 82,000,000 downloads, or there about and its not stopping now. The community with over 1,000 volunteers working on very small or sometimes without a budget, with their heart, soul, mind and everything.

The future is very bright for Joomla, so get involved, make it happen, because if somebody asked you a question: Who is Joomla? Joomla is you, and Joomla is me.

I am an enterprise consultant, a creative and a tech enthusiast. Am also undertaking my certification in network security at the Cisco Academy. In my spare time, I improve my skills through trainings, tech gatherings and networking. Some of the things that am passionate about is traveling, art, volunteering and cycling, those are the things that keep my blood circulating.